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https://blackgirlnerds.com/sundance-institute-welcomes-tabitha-jackson-as-its-new-festival-director/
In a press release delivered today, during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival award ceremony, it was announced Tabitha Jackson will take the reigns as the next festival director.
Today, Sundance Institute announced Tabitha Jackson as the new Director of the Sundance Film Festival. Jackson was chosen from a worldwide search and follows outgoing Director, John Cooper, who served in the role for 11 years and will assume a newly-created Emeritus Director role. An award-winning filmmaker, she has served as Director of the Institute’s Documentary Film Program for the last six years. Jackson will oversee the Festival’s overall vision and strategy, while leading a senior team in close collaboration with Director of Programming, Kim Yutani. In his new role, Cooper will oversee special projects including preparations for the Institute’s 40th anniversary in 2021.
“It gives me immense pleasure to announce, Tabitha Jackson, as the new Director of the Sundance Film Festival,” said Sundance Institute’s Executive Director, Keri Putnam. “Tabitha is fiercely devoted to independent artists, has been a visionary member of the Sundance Institute’s leadership team for the last 6 years. Her authenticity, experience and perspective will serve her well in leading the Festival forward as a beacon for independent artists and audiences.”
“I founded Sundance Institute with the clear mission of celebrating and supporting independent artists, said Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford, “and the Festival is the platform where we can showcase their stories. As we approach our fortieth anniversary, I’m pleased to have Tabitha lead us as we move into the future and meet the next generation of artists and their stories.”
Jackson has served as the Director of the Institute’s Documentary Film Program since 2013, and in that time has overseen the creation of innovative new programs and resources that support nonfiction filmmakers worldwide with special passion for expanding the art of non-fiction storytelling. A focus of Jackson’s new role will be shaping the nonprofit Institute’s full slate of global public programming throughout the year — including Sundance Film Festivals in Hong Kong and London and a nationwide Short Film Tour — as well as leading the community of artists and audiences those programs serve.
Prior to joining the Institute, Jackson worked in arts and entertainment for more than 25 years as an award-winning filmmaker. Prior to joining the Institute in 2013, she served as Head of Arts and Performance at Channel 4 Television in London, where she supported the independent and alternative voice and sought to find fresh and innovative ways of storytelling. She executive produced a number of projects for the UK’s Film 4 including Mark Cousins’ cinematic odyssey The Story of Film, Clio Barnard’s formally experimental The Arbor, Sophie Fiennes’ essay The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, Bart Layton’s thriller The Imposter, and Iain and Jane’s innovative Nick Cave biography 20,000 Days on Earth.
“It is exciting to be amplifying the voices and work of independent artists in these challenging and fast-changing times,’” said Jackson. “My role, working with a team at the top of their game, will be to ensure that the festival remains as effective, vital and transformational in the years going forward as it has been in the past — and to make sure that we have fun doing it. I can’t wait to get started.”
The Sundance Film Festival’s scope and ambition have evolved over John Cooper’s tenure, including programmatic innovation and thoughtful global expansion. The 2020 Festival received over 15,100 submissions from around the world, featured over 200 new works from a diverse array of voices, welcomed more than 125,000 guests to Utah, and reaches millions more who watch festival news and content online.
The post Sundance Institute Welcomes Tabitha Jackson as its New Festival Director appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
In a press release delivered today, during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival award ceremony, it was announced Tabitha Jackson will take the reigns as the next festival director.
Today, Sundance Institute announced Tabitha Jackson as the new Director of the Sundance Film Festival. Jackson was chosen from a worldwide search and follows outgoing Director, John Cooper, who served in the role for 11 years and will assume a newly-created Emeritus Director role. An award-winning filmmaker, she has served as Director of the Institute’s Documentary Film Program for the last six years. Jackson will oversee the Festival’s overall vision and strategy, while leading a senior team in close collaboration with Director of Programming, Kim Yutani. In his new role, Cooper will oversee special projects including preparations for the Institute’s 40th anniversary in 2021.
“It gives me immense pleasure to announce, Tabitha Jackson, as the new Director of the Sundance Film Festival,” said Sundance Institute’s Executive Director, Keri Putnam. “Tabitha is fiercely devoted to independent artists, has been a visionary member of the Sundance Institute’s leadership team for the last 6 years. Her authenticity, experience and perspective will serve her well in leading the Festival forward as a beacon for independent artists and audiences.”
“I founded Sundance Institute with the clear mission of celebrating and supporting independent artists, said Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford, “and the Festival is the platform where we can showcase their stories. As we approach our fortieth anniversary, I’m pleased to have Tabitha lead us as we move into the future and meet the next generation of artists and their stories.”
Jackson has served as the Director of the Institute’s Documentary Film Program since 2013, and in that time has overseen the creation of innovative new programs and resources that support nonfiction filmmakers worldwide with special passion for expanding the art of non-fiction storytelling. A focus of Jackson’s new role will be shaping the nonprofit Institute’s full slate of global public programming throughout the year — including Sundance Film Festivals in Hong Kong and London and a nationwide Short Film Tour — as well as leading the community of artists and audiences those programs serve.
Prior to joining the Institute, Jackson worked in arts and entertainment for more than 25 years as an award-winning filmmaker. Prior to joining the Institute in 2013, she served as Head of Arts and Performance at Channel 4 Television in London, where she supported the independent and alternative voice and sought to find fresh and innovative ways of storytelling. She executive produced a number of projects for the UK’s Film 4 including Mark Cousins’ cinematic odyssey The Story of Film, Clio Barnard’s formally experimental The Arbor, Sophie Fiennes’ essay The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, Bart Layton’s thriller The Imposter, and Iain and Jane’s innovative Nick Cave biography 20,000 Days on Earth.
“It is exciting to be amplifying the voices and work of independent artists in these challenging and fast-changing times,’” said Jackson. “My role, working with a team at the top of their game, will be to ensure that the festival remains as effective, vital and transformational in the years going forward as it has been in the past — and to make sure that we have fun doing it. I can’t wait to get started.”
The Sundance Film Festival’s scope and ambition have evolved over John Cooper’s tenure, including programmatic innovation and thoughtful global expansion. The 2020 Festival received over 15,100 submissions from around the world, featured over 200 new works from a diverse array of voices, welcomed more than 125,000 guests to Utah, and reaches millions more who watch festival news and content online.
The post Sundance Institute Welcomes Tabitha Jackson as its New Festival Director appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
(JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib joined fellow Reps Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal at a rally for Bernie Sanders in Iowa, where Tlaib passionately booed Hillary Clinton. The booing was in response to moderator Dionna Langford bringing up Clinton’s previous remarks about nobody liking Sanders in the Senate. While Langford told the crowd, “We’re not gonna boo. We’re classy here,” Tlaib responded by booing and saying, “You all know I can’t be quiet,” she added. “The haters will shut up on Monday when we win.”
With the Iowa caucus just 2 days away, campaigning has reached a fever pitch among the Democratic hopefuls. Emotions are running hot, and the stakes are higher than ever. Tlaib’s booing has been met with mixed responses from Democrats. While some cheer on Tlaib’s rejection of the Democratic establishment, others have criticized her for stoking the flames of division. After all, there is nothing unifying about calling fellow Democrats “haters” and telling them to “shut up”.
The media’s response to Tlaib’s booing is frustrating on many levels, because there are no easy answers here. Tlaib is allowed to express her frustrations and dislike of Clinton, just as Clinton is allowed to do so about Sanders. But Clinton is now a private citizen. Tlaib holds public office, so there are different expectations for her.
There is a lot to unpack here, as the situation contains nuances that aren’t easily explored in the restraints of Twitter’s character limit. Clinton supporters will take offense at Tlaib booing while Sanders supporters will root her on. But here’s what pisses me off: this is more rehashing of the 2016 election that sets Dems up to fall into the same trap that fucked us in 2016. Once again we are sacrificing good at the altar of perfection.
Democrats are uniquely skilled at eating their own, and they don’t seem to have learned their lesson from 2016. Trump and his goons have evaded a fair trial in the Senate, doing untold damage to our democracy and creating a constitutional crisis. That’s something to boo about.
Trump’s administration has rolled back protections for LGBTQ+ Americans. That’s something to boo about. He’s destroying the environment and putting children in cages. Those are horrific things to boo about.
It’s disheartening to see Democrats completely missing the forest for the trees. And it’s also worth noting that a crowd booing Clinton is not that far removed from Republicans chanting “lock her up” at a Trump rally. We have a long and grueling primary season ahead of us, but let’s not lose sight of who the real enemy is. It’s not Clinton or Tlaib or Sanders or Biden or Warren or Buttigieg. It’s Donald Trump, his craven and corrupt administration, and the spineless senators giving him permission to ruin our democracy.
Democrats, get your shit together.
(via CNN)
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(image: The CW)
The finale of Arrow left us with a lot of hints of things to come in a lot of the characters’ potential futures. We already know that The CW is working on a spinoff with Green Arow and the Canaries, but there is another major person on the Arrow team who might be getting their own spinoff, and that is John Diggle, a.k.a. the people’s champion.
**Spoilers for Arrow’s series finale.**
(image: The CW)
For a long time, people have speculated that John Diggle could be the Green Lantern because he shares so much similar background with Green Lantern John Stewart. Plus, his relationship with Oliver emulates the Green Arrow/Lantern friendship that has existed in the comics. It was elevated even more so when it was revealed that John’s stepfather was named Roy Stewart. Hence, he is (in a way) John Stewart.
During the finale, we have a scene of Diggle moving to Metropolis and a meteor crashing nearby. He goes to investigate and finds a box that emanates green light when he opens it. ♫Dun dun dun.♫
In an interview with TV Guide, actor David Ramsey explained that the reason they have been so vague is because there are restrictions that DC Entertainment has asked for, since the company is working on a Green Lantern series for HBO Max. Can’t muddy the waters, even though the CW shows are the most successful out of everything DC has created for the screen recently, sans Watchmen.
“We did have some restrictions from DC, so we had to kind of play within that. But it wouldn’t be Arrow if there wasn’t some question even after that opened-ended tease,” Ramsey said. “And it’s a huge tease, and obviously, your mind goes to only one thing—there being a ring and him becoming this wonderful character and joining this galactic police group—but it’s still open-ended, and that’s the way we wanted to leave it. It was great to have some sort of answer, but we’re left with some questions.”
Even as someone who left the Arrow part of the Arrowverse before the show’s end, John Diggle was one of my favorite characters when I was watching. I appreciated how important he felt to the story without being the “Black Best Friend,” and I was one of the people who was waiting for him to get his Green Lantern ring. Yet, the fact that it could be happening post-Arrow makes me sad.
During Crisis, one of the things that sort of made my eyebrows tweak was the weird lineup of the “Paragons.” While I understood it from a “this is an Arrowverse Crossover” perspective, it was just odd that White Canary and Batwoman were there and Diggle, the unofficial Green Lantern expy, was absent—same with Black Lightning, although I do get it for filming reasons. I would have liked for Diggle to have had this power and presence on the actual show, especially if the Green Lantern series doesn’t get picked up or doesn’t do well. He was such an important character, and while it’s cool that our last image of him is full of potential, I would have preferred to see the Green Arrow and Green Lantern team up properly.
“No matter what level you are, we are actors who work. And it begins on the page, so whether it’s John Diggle or John Diggle Stewart or however that works, of course, I would be open to that,” Ramsey said in the interview. “Greg Berlanti, however—it’s almost without a question. I think he’s prolific. Anything he wants to talk to me about, I’m happy to hear it.”
We shall see.
(via io9)
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